Dragon's Dogma is slowly creeping toward the top of my list of games I want to play in 2012. It has a lot of potential. If I buy it, I'll be doing so for the actual game, not the RE demo. I like RE okay in moderation, but I know better than to get hyped for a game I probably won't be able to play much (I'm such a coward and I'm tired of fighting my yellow-bellied tendencies).

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world

Zero was mechanically the best of the old series and actually really fucking hard. I've gotten myself irreversibly stuck in the game twice early on and was sweating bullets during the last boss fights. Worth a play, definitely! The story is one of RE's most ludicrous, involving leeches and opera singers... oh and Rebecca.

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

Yeah. When I played it, that's kinda of how I felt. Overall, I thought 4 was better and 5 had a few more annoying things, but it generally kept to the same formula and that formula was so good initially that when I stopped looking for things to nitpick over, I had a very good time.

If I really sat down and thought about it, 4 and 5 are on completely different ends of the spectrum. 4 was psychological. Much like Silent Hill, it took you out of your element and while the enemies weren't abundant, at any moment your life could end. Tack on the constant need to watch after Ashley, the game left you feeling utterly vulnerable.

5 was completely different. You had an intelligent, trained partner who watched your back and I think it was the first RE where--after the first playthrough--you didn't ever have to worry about ammo again. But even then, the sheer amount of enemies it provided, was terrifying. That scene on the bridge was intense. I'm firing shot after shot from the rocket launcher and those bastards just kept coming. Not a definitive step in terms of Survival Horror, but it had elements and is still one of the best shooters I've played to date.

Anyway, the point is both are worthwhile for different reasons but I really couldn't fairly determine which one I like better.

I kept tripping over ammo in both Resident Evil 4 and 5. Both are essentially action games -- it's just that RE4 actually feels kind of creepy when you're mowing villagers down, whereas RE5 is just straight-up gunner's heaven.

//Zig

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I also thought the lake boss was creepy in 4, but that was a more personal matter. I have a fear of deep, dark water.

I do, too. It was only intensified by the fact that he could knock you out of that flimsy boat and leave you helpless in the water. Another example of how that game just...robbed you of all sense of security.

Hey, and about RE 4 and 5... who decided that well lit mines are an excellent environment for survival horror? Spoiler: they aren't.

RE4 did have some scary scenes, I'll admit. The water scene, yes... actually the whole scene after that, too, when it's pouring rain and for once your visibility is actually hurt!

Other scary scenes: the maze scene was the only moment in the game I actually jumped... the first time those invisible creatures appear... and then when Salazar's "left hand" goes after you.

Oh. And the Regenerators. FUCK THOSE THINGS. Ah god they terrified me. Mostly that sound they make! Way creepier than a peasant growling in Spanish.

RE5 had only one scary scene that I remember and that was when the lickers first show up. I was so glad they brought the lickers back. I think there was a scene in the trainyard, too, where a dog ambushed me and made me shout out loud.

EDIT: Actually, can I give another shout out to the Regenarators? In a game that was distinctly unscary, those guys made me piss myself. One of the series most frightening monsters. Maybe THE MOST frightening. I never got comfortable fighting them.

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."